Hooker is recovering from sports hernia and a torn labrum in his hip in which he played with late last season for the Buckeyes. He hasn’t been able to workout with teams leading up to the draft, which might hinder his status as a projected top-10 pick next Thursday.

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Hooker hasn’t had a known official visit with the 49ers, who pick second and have a need at free safety in their new single-high defense. They might end up filling that role with Jimmie Ward, who hasn’t played safety with consistency since college.

San Francisco made Ward a slot cornerback upon entering the league as a first-round pick in 2014. He transitioned to cornerback full time last season and was arguably the team’s most consistent defender when healthy. The 49ers recently cut starting cornerback Tramaine Brock following an arrest for alleged domestic violence.

New general manager John Lynch indicated last week that Brock’s release isn’t likely to impact the team’s thinking regarding Ward’s position switch.

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“I think we’re going to give (Ward) an opportunity to see where we feel like he’s the best fit and safety is going to be an area where we’re going to look at him at,” Lynch said.

“A lot of people, I think the automatic assumption is with what happened here in the last week that maybe we’d change and redirect. No. I think we’re going to do what we think’s best for our team and Jimmie I think provides a unique versatility and we’re going to try to take advantage of that.”

Adding Hooker would allow San Francisco to keep Ward at cornerback and the slot. If the team goes elsewhere in Round 1 it might look at others for the free safety role like Washington’s Budda Baker or Utah’s Marcus Williams.